GAJO Games

GAJO Happenings and Ramblings Blog

2018 - Number 11

The Axis Forces Deploy

Bolt Action: Breakout Mission Playtest

For our monthly Bolt Action Desert themed battle in March, I wrote up a new draft mission to test, entitled Breakout.
The mission is designed to give the players a very different experience, with trade offs between mobility and firepower.

The mission uses roughly equal points on each side, with very different victory conditions. The attacker (who is breaking out)
receives one point for each unit successfully exiting the defender's table edge, while the defender receives one point for
each enemy destroyed. This creates a very different dynamic from a typical Bolt Action game.

Allied Forces Start the Advance

Here is the Mission Summary:

FORCES / TABLE: equal point forces from historically matched theatre selectors. Table should be 4 feet wide and at least 12 feet
long. The defenders should have a lot of terrain to cover, and need to rely on firepower.

DEPLOYMENT: the defender deploys all of their units within 12" of their table edge. Their units may start dug in (soft cover). The
attackers units will enter from their table edge on the first turn. They do not require an activation check to arrive.

VICTORY: the defending player scores 1 point for each enemy unit destroyed. The attacking player receives 1 point for each of their
units which exits the defender's table edge.

DESPERATION: the attackers are desperate to break out toward friendly lines. Attacking units which are eliminated may be recycled on
the following turn from their table edge. The attacker may also voluntarily remove depleted units in order to recycle them at full
strength, with these units also entering the following turn from the attacker's table edge.

DURATION: the game ends at the conclusion of turn seven.

Dug In Bersaglieri Await the Assault

Our playtest saw British and American units attempting to breakout somewhere in western Tunisia. The Americans were fully motorized
and therefore more mobile, but the British brought superior firepower to bear on their enemies. They were opposed by an Afrika Korps
force, and an Italian Bersaglieri force.

The game turned out to be a nail biter, with the Allies having to constanly choose between pushing forward and trying to destroy the enemy
units barring their paths. As the Axis forces were slowly attritioned, they had fewer order dice in the bag, reducing their tactical
flexibility. We ended with a very narrower Axis (defender) victory, and the mission turned out to be a great deal of fun.